Bills defeats Koppa on council, Kinney selected Essex mayor
City and School elections across Montgomery County have been decided. The top contest in the City of Red Oak was the mayor’s race, which saw incumbent Bill Billings face off against challenger Shawnna Silvius. In the end, it was Silvius earning 413 votes to Billings’ 355.
Also unseated was Red Oak Ward Two City Councilman Terry Koppa, who was challenged for the seat by Brian Bills. Bills earned 127 votes to Koppa’s 70.
The other race for Red Oak City Council At-Large was uncontested, and the lone candidate on the ballot, Tim Fridolph, picked up 663 votes.
The Red Oak School Board race was uncontested for all three seats, and all three members were re-elected. Bret Blackman received 608 votes, Roger Carlson 621 votes, and Kathy Walker, 636 votes.
The other issue on the ballot regarding the Red Oak School District, Public Measure PX, passed with overwhelming support. There were 645 yes votes to 115 no votes.
The Elliott mayor’s race was uncontested, with Mike Carson picking up 37 votes for his re-election bid.
Three seats were open on the Elliott City Council, and there were only two candidates on the ballot. Todd Silk, with 36 votes, and Jacquelyn Howell, with 34 votes, were elected to two of the seats.
The races in Grant were also uncontested, and Emerson Hill was elected as Grant Mayor with 16 votes.
Four candidates were in the race for the five seats for Grant Council At-Large. Chelsea Jenkins, with 21 votes, Lyn Silger, with 20 votes, Nancy Taylor, with 18 votes, and Shelia Wilcoxon, with 10 votes, were all elected to the council.
The Stanton City Council race was uncontested, and elected to the seats were Chris Stephens with 102 votes, Wes Royal with 89 votes, and Sheryl A. Porter, with 75 votes, were all elected.
Also uncontested in Stanton was the school board election. Cameron Lewellen picked up 123 votes, Travis Taylor earned 101 votes, and Amy Tibben received 97 votes to join the Stanton School Board.
Marilyn Halda got 103 votes to take the uncontested race for Villisca Mayor.
While the mayor’s race was uncontested, the Villisca City Council race was contested, with Marcus A. Taylor being elected with 93 votes, and Duane Casey with 78 votes. The third candidate in the race, Karla A. Greenfield, received 48 votes.
The Villisca school board race was also contested, and the two top vote getters were Thomas Gourley, 101 votes, and Leland Shipley, 92 votes. Terry Dalton finished third with 72 votes.
No candidates filed for the races for Coburg mayor and Coburg City Council.
Kevin Britten was also uncontested for District Five Southwestern Community College Director, and picked up 820 votes.
In the City of Essex, multiple contested races were decided, the first being for the position of Essex mayor, which saw three candidates vying for the position.
After all the votes were tallied, the new mayor of Essex is Calvin Kinney, who picked up 150 votes, Blain Petersen picked up the second highest vote tally with 47 votes, and right behind him was Gloria McComb with 46 votes. There were three write-ins.
A total of five candidates were running for two seats on the Essex City Council. The top two vote getters were Jeff Eshelman with 152 votes, and Nicole Wenstrand with 149 votes. The rest of the votes were as follows: Heather Thornton, 95 votes, Dennis Gresham, 38 votes, and Donald L. Olson, 18 votes.
Four candidates were competing for two seats on the Essex School Board. The winners of that race were Rebecca Franks with 195 votes, and Cole Thornton with 136 votes. Lori Racine picked up 85 votes, and Donald L. Olson earned 44 votes.